Eight-member thinktank likely to replace the Planning Commission

Sources said the government is working out the details of the panel which is expected to be announced within a few weeks. Out of the eight members, four would be from the government and four from outside.

NEW DELHI: The new entity which will replace Planning Commission is likely to have eight members and include economists, representatives from the social sector, government, industry and academics.

Sources said the government is working out the details of the panel which is expected to be announced within a few weeks. Out of the eight members, four would be from the government and four from outside.

It could either be headed by the Prime Minister or a chairman if the PM does not want to lead the panel, which is being modelled on the lines of a thinktank, sources privy to the discussions said. The panel will advise the government on the approach to reforms and is expected to function as a dispute resolution forum for states.

The Centre is also brainstorming over the future of the current Five-Year Plan; various options are being discussed whether to have another plan or a vision document, the sources said.

The successor of Planning Commission will work as a think tank for the government against the backdrop of new economic realities that will have a bottoms-up approach instead of a centralized planning model of the Nehruvian era.

States are also expected to have a major say in the new entity as the government is of the view that the mandate of the Finance Commission is limited and the Inter State Council is moribund.

PM Narendra Modi is likely to attend a meeting to discuss the entity on Tuesday. All past members of the Planning Commission and deputy chairmen have reportedly been invited to the meeting.

Former deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, told TOI that he had been invited to the meeting but he would not be able to attend as he is travelling overseas. "But I will send a note," Ahluwalia said adding that his views would be spelt out on the note.

The PM on Tuesday had sought suggestions from the public about the new panel that will replace the 64-year old commission. A statement from the PMO had said the PM has invited ideas from the people on what shape the new institution can take to replace the Planning Commission. A special open forum has been created on the website mygov.nic.in for suggestions on the new institution.

In his maiden Independence Day speech, Modi had announced the scrapping of the plan panel. He had said the Planning Commission, a Soviet era relic, would be replaced by a new entity, which would have representation from states. "So, I am saying from the ramparts of the Red Fort that it is a very old system and it will have to be rejuvenated, it will have to be changed a lot. Sometimes it costs more to repair the old house, but it gives us no satisfaction," he had said in his speech.

"Thereafter, we have a feeling that it would be better to construct a new house altogether and therefore within a short period, we will replace the Planning Commission with a new institution," the PM had said, adding that the it would be a "new body with a new soul and new thinking".

The announcement marked the end of the Five-year Plans that was a key feature of governance in India since 1950 when the Planning Commission was set up by Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first Prime Minister. Sources have told TOI that current Five-Year Plan (2012-2017) would be implemented and the new entity would chalk out the future direction. Some of the functions and responsibilities of the commission are expected to be handed over to the finance ministry. More than 1,500 employees of the plan panel are anxious about their status.

The Planning Commission, headed by a deputy chairman, and reporting to the PM, played a crucial role in the distribution of resources but has faced criticism in recent years for losing its relevance. Critics have said it was a "parking lot for cronies" and had limited impact in a market economy.

Former power minister and reformist politician Suresh Prabhu has emerged as the front runner to be the deputy chairman of the revamped body.

Sources have said the BJP may opt for the Shiv Sena politician and the architect of electricity sector reforms to be the deputy chairman, although there are other contenders. Prabhu is currently heading an advisory body in the power ministry.